Croatia inaugurates new president

By
Euronews

Would-be European Union member Croatia has inaugurated its new president at a ceremony in Zagreb.

Ivo Josipovic, a 52-year-old law expert, takes over from the popular centrist Stipe Mesic who managed to turn the country into an outward looking parliamentary democracy after the nationalist and autocratic rule of his predecessor Franjo Tudjman.

Josipovic won the Baltic republic’s January presidential election on an anti-corruption platform and has promised to lead the country into the EU bloc during his five-year mandate.

Josipovic took the oath and made a speech in front of 1,000 invited guests. The ceremony was attended by presidents of 10 central and southeastern European countries as well as EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele.